Retiring eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman is joining the presidential campaign of John McCain as a national co-chair. Whitman, who steps down from her eBay job at the end of the month, had been a major fundraiser for Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who dropped out of the Republican race last month.

Whitman is the second high-profile Silicon Valley businesswoman to land a key job boosting McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee.

Last week, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who campaigned for McCain in the primaries, was tapped to lead the Republican National Committee’s fundraising efforts to aid McCain’s November campaign and will continue on the road touting his economic agenda.

“I’m honored that Senator McCain has asked me to become a part of his campaign,” Whitman said in a statement. “America needs John McCain’s courageous leadership.”

Interestingly, both Whitman and Fiorina have been mentioned as possible GOP candidates for California governor in 2010. And both, no doubt, would be in line for influential Washington jobs should McCain win.

As national campaign co-chair, Whitman, a billionaire, will not only help McCain raise money but also work on developing policy and travel the country on his behalf.

That’s a fairly active role for someone who has downplayed interest in her own political future.

At a San Jose City Hall event Tuesday honoring her decade-long leadership of the online auction giant, Whitman was asked about that. She replied, “Frankly, I have so many other interests at this juncture.”

And asked in January about a possible run for governor, she laughed at the notion, calling herself a private person. At the time, speaking of her role in the Romney campaign, she said, “That’s the extent of my political activity.”

TOO MUCH PUB: When former Taipei mayor and current Taiwan presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou visits Silicon Valley, his Cupertino sister puts out the Do Not Disturb sign.

It’s not that Lee-Chun Ma doesn’t love her big brother. She does. In fact, the Agilent Technologies marketing and product manager is in Taiwan to support him before next Saturday’s presidential election.

But the soft-spoken Lee-Chun Ma prefers to stay out of the limelight. And Ma Ying-jeou, known for his movie-star good looks in Taiwan – women are known to fawn over his “sexy” runner’s legs – tends to draw a crowd everywhere he goes.

“We try not to go out with him; there is too much publicity,” she admitted. “My life is my life. I’m helping out with the campaign because he’s my brother. But I also want to keep my life private.”

In past visits to the Bay Area, Ma would stay with his sis. After a run, they’d go for a traditional Taiwanese breakfast at a local Chinese shopping area. And they’d be mobbed. “They want to take pictures of him. They want to say hello,” she said.

Otto Warmbier was arrested in January 2016 at the end of a brief tourist visit to North Korea. He had been medically evacuated and was being treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center when he died at age 22.